Massachusetts men charged with conspiring to buy guns in Bangor

BANGOR, Maine – Three Massachusetts men are facing charges in U.S. District Court that they conspired to buy guns illegally at a downtown pawn shop.

Levar Carey, 26, of Brockton, Mass., and James Damon, 22, of North Easton, Mass., pleaded not guilty Thursday to conspiring to make false statements in

acquisition of firearms, aiding and abetting the making of false statements in the acquisition of fire arms and being felons in possession of firearms.

A third man, Christopher Riley, 25, of Brockton, Mass., is facing the same charges. His arraignment date had not been scheduled.

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The men are prohibited from buying and-or possessing firearms due to felony convictions on drug and other charges in Massachusetts. Information about why they wanted to buy the guns was not available Friday.

A trial has been set tentatively for Nov. 7 before U.S. District Judge John Woodcock.

Last fall, the men allegedly conspired with a woman identified in court

documents as a confidential informant to buy three pistols from Frati’s Pawn

Shop, located on State Street in Bangor. The woman paid more than $1,000 for

the three pistols on Oct. 11, according to the indictment, and falsely

stated that she was purchasing the guns for herself.

Information about whether the woman has been charged was not available

Friday.

The three men were indicted on Aug. 13 by a federal grand jury in Bangor.

The indictment was sealed until after Carey and Damon were arrested the week

of Aug. 17, according to court documents.

Detention hearings to determine whether they will be held without bail

pending the outcome of the case are scheduled to be held on Sept. 11 in

federal court in Bangor.

If convicted, each man faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to

$250,000 on the possession and aiding and abetting charges. The conspiracy